21 Months

Ah! It's July 14th and I am just now writing this post. I better get it done before Ellie turns 22 months!

We are having so much fun with the discovery stage of 21 months! Ellie is learning and saying more and more each day and we are both LOVING it! One really neat thing is that Ellie has started is streaming 2 to 3 words together. That is a lot of fun! She now says "I love you, Mama (or Daddy)," "yes, please," "Hi _____", or "Bye-bye ______," etc. And I know there are a ton of things that I am forgetting, but it is good to have a couple of things written down. :) I am also at a point where I can usually understand what she is trying to express. That is really nice! She can tell us when something is hot, although that adjective is now applied to anything that isn't a "normal" temperature. :) In addition, she says "please" and "thank you" at the appropriate times and most of the time without prompting. (I love that!) Some of our favorite things that she says are "tap tap stss" for chapstick and "Mickey Moush" for Mickey mouse. It is adorable and something we will be sad when she starts pronouncing those things correctly. :)

In addition to talking up a storm and understanding most everything we say, Ellie is much more active in imaginative play and discovering with her hands. She is wonderful mommy to her baby dolls and will daily carefully feed them, read to them, rock them, take them on walks, play with them, and put them to "night night" when it is nap/bed time. She also has a toy dog (appropriately named "Doggie") that she takes on walks around the house or through a store (when Daddy lets her take Doggie inside). It is so much fun to watch! Ellie has also spent a lot of time with us outside as we work on the yard and enjoys playing with the rocks, grass, balls, or her other yard toys. I love watching her explore and enjoy her environment - especially when it is outdoors!

Finally, Ellie loves to sing and be sung to. Lately she has been singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and staying on tune the entire time. Although she doesn't sing the words yet, she remains on pitch - even in the little verse section. We LOVE it!! Through osmosis, music will be important to Ellie unless she adamantly chooses to avoid and ignore it (which I would have an issue with...), so Justin and I are thrilled to hear her sing so well at a young age and be able to carry a tune. Wahoo!!

That's all I can think about right now, but I am sure I come up with more later. But don't worry, she'll turn 22 months in a couple of weeks and I will be able to post them then... :)